October 2006

In This Issue

• Reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act and the Older Americans Act
• Private Foundation Funding
• Funding Tip

Reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act and the Older Americans Act

Ryan White CARE Act Reauthorization

In September, the House of Representatives approved the reauthorization of the Ryan White AIDS program, by quickly passing HR 6143 (The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act). The bill, drafted through a bicameral-bipartisan negotiating process, retains the current grant programs, but changes the allocation formula for Titles I, II and III by eliminating existing hold-harmless provisions and placing additional emphasis on areas where the disease is now spreading most quickly. These changes would come at the expense of states with urban areas and a longer history of AIDS infections.

During the last week of September, a vote on the reauthorization in the Senate through a unanimous consent agreement was blocked by Senators from states that would be hurt by the new funding formula (Florida, Illinois, New Jersey and New York).

Several members of Congress have also objected to new provisions that would restrict the use of Ryan White funding for support services. Grantees would be required to spend at least 75 percent of their Ryan White funds for narrowly defined "core medical services." The remaining 25 percent, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, could be used for support services needed to achieve medical outcomes.

Members of the legal services community have raised the concern that the bill does not include "legal services" in the examples of support services given in the bill ("such as respite care for persons caring for individuals with HIV/AIDS, outreach services, medical transportation, linguistic services, and referrals for health care and support services"), but this list is illustrative, not exclusive. The House report accompanying HR 6143 states:

The Committee wishes to clarify that nothing in the legislation shall be read as limiting eligible support services to the examples listed in the text of the legislation in Sections 105, 201, and 301. The legislation delineates some examples of support services, but the five examples in the bill are not intended to be an exclusive list of possible support services. The Committee is aware of and received information supporting the validity of other examples of eligible support services that were not listed in the text.

Proponents of the bill urge quick action during the lame-duck session after the election break, as current law could force up to $40 million in drug-assistance cuts to help states under the current hold-harmless provisions. Senate leaders could roll the reauthorization bill into an omnibus bill, preventing any amendments, but the bill’s sponsors are invested in passing it unanimously, as has been the case since the measure was first approved in 1991.

Older Americans Act Reauthorization

Although the Older Americans Act (OAA) was scheduled to be reauthorized in 2005, Congress did not act on the reauthorization, but simply continued the OAA in effect as it was for a year. On September 30, 2006 the Senate passed by unanimous consent the Older Americans Act reauthorization bill, H.R. 6197. The House had unanimously passed the bill on September 28. Since neither the House nor Senate made any amendments to HR 6197, there was no need for a conference committee, and the bill went directly to the President for his signature on October 17.

Previously, the House had passed its version of the reauthorization, H.R.5293, and the Senate HELP Committee had passed its version, S. 3570. The House and Senate committees then negotiated the differences between the two bills and produced a bill which both the House and Senate agreed upon, HR 6197.

Generally, the legal services and Legal Service Developers sections have not been changed by the reauthorization from the way they have been in the OAA. For analysis of the legislation, visit the website on the Reauthorization of the Older Americans Act maintained by the Center for Social Gerontology.

Private Foundation Funding

• New Voices Gulf Coast Transformation Fellowship
  http://newvoices.aed.org
  Deadline: Optional Letters of Intent are due December 4, 2006; Grant Applications must be received by February 5, 2007
  

  New Voices, a national grant-making initiative focused on leadership development, nonprofit strengthening, and empowering diverse individuals will focus its resources over the next three years on the Gulf Coast Region. A concentration of New Voices grant awards in the region will 1) create opportunities for talented emerging leaders to speak out on behalf of disadvantaged or marginalized communities, 2) build the capacity of small nonprofit organizations struggling with startup or survival, and 3) support timely social justice projects or initiatives in the region.

  Sponsored program areas include:

  • Racial Justice
  • Migrant and Refugee Rights
  • Women's Rights
  • Human Rights
  • Reproductive Rights
  • HIV/AIDS

  Grant benefits for the nonprofit organization include salary support and fringe benefits to host a Fellow for two years, a computer for the Fellow's use, training for the Fellow's mentor and networking opportunities.

  Grant benefits for the Fellow include meaningful and rewarding social justice work, leadership training, mentoring, up to $1,500 per year for professional development, up to $6,000 per year for student loan repayment, up to $4,000 per year to cover other approved costs, online curriculum and peer support, mental health support and networking opportunities.

• LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell Legal Fellowship
  http://www.martindale.com/xp/Martindale/Peer_Review_Ratings/ratings_fellowship.xml
  Deadline: December 31, 2006
  

  Applicants are invited for the LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell Legal Fellowship, a program to promote education, the practice of public interest law, and diversity in the legal profession. The program awards two $15,000 grants each year, one in the summer and one in the winter, to individuals or associations whose applications are selected by the company's Legal Fellowship committee. The deadline for the winter fellowship is December 31, 2006, with the winner to be announced in January 2007.

  To be eligible, an organization must hold nonprofit 501(c)(3) status or be defined as a national, state, local, or provincial bar association or professional association. Individuals also may apply. For more information and the application, visit the LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell Web site.

• Brookdale Foundation
  http://www.brookdalefoundation.org/relativesasparents.htm
  Deadline: January 11, 2007 (local proposals); February 8, 2007 (state proposals)
  

  The Brookdale Foundation has announced the Relatives as Parents Program (RAPP) Local and State Seed Grant Initiatives for the year 2007. RAPP is designed to encourage and promote the creation or expansion of services for grandparents and other relatives who have taken on the responsibility of surrogate parenting when the biological parents are unable to do so.

  RAPP awards seed grants of $10,000 over a two-year period in two categories: local agencies and state public agencies. Selected applicants will be notified in April and be required to attend the National Orientation and Training Conference to be held June 2007 in Denver, Colorado.

Funding Tip

OMB Watch has launched FedSpending.org, a free, searchable database of federal government spending for FY 2000 to FY 2005. Users can search for data on grants including federal assistance spending by grant recipient, place of performance, or agency.

Click here to view other recent issues of Advocacy Funding Fact$.